Are we cruel?

[GlisGlis]

I think Pappy had the point.
if you eat your prey (and possibly use all the animal parts) and if you train yourself at your best and if you hunt within your limits a good part of cruel definition fails and more than that you prove you understand the value of the life you are taking.
I would stop here and be satisfied whit this.
I would not venture in evaluating how much the animal will suffer as this seems to me very uncertain and debatable

It is worth considering that many of us do not rely on hunting for living
So if you hunt for pure fun (exaggerating a bit) the topic question makes more sense
 

[Digital Caveman]

I pretty much rely on meat for a living.

[GlisGlis]

I pretty much rely on meat for a living.

Sure. My post is not anti-hunt.
I was stating that there are also people considering game just moving targets (more or less) and that is cruel.
I also recognize that it's likely that this is not happening for people in this forum as it seems they have a deeper interest in nature and, I hope, a greater respect

[Pappy]

Pretty much all the meat Miss Joanie and I eat is wild game but can't say I wouldn't go hungry with out it, I had just rather gather it my self than pick it up at the store,guess it is just Man's nature to want to provide for his family , weather you hunt and gather or buy. I very much agree just killing for fun/sport /something to hang on the wall or brag about ant my cup of tea.
 Pappy

[boomhowzer]

I just found this quote in a Tom Brown Jr. book and I think I agree with the sentiment.

"Many people today are quite lackadaisical in their approach to hunting. Perhaps this is a result of a technology that has created long-range weapons and lifestyles more separate from forests and fields. Whatever the reasons, many modern hunters stumble into their game by chance, shoot from a great distance, and take only the best parts home to the freezer with little feeling of connection to the animals they hunted. By contrast, native Americans felt intimately connected to the animals they hunted. Knowing starvation all too well, they hunted from the heart, using skills that took years to perfect. They felt a true thanks for every morsel and fiber of an animal's being."
     -Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival (1983), pg. 146

[ptaylor]

Hey I'll throw this out there too.

I knew a guy named Ingwe from Kenya. He was mauled by a lion. The lion had been injured a few days before, and they were trying to put it down. At the end of one day, Ingwe switched out his rifle for a shotgun to get some birds for dinner. That is when the lion attacked him. He had to wait until the big cat was on top of him, so that he could put the shotgun barrel into its mouth and kill the cat (he enjoyed telling people he was the only person to ever kill a lion with a bird gun). The cat bit him in the arm and two canines went completely through his arm, plus some scratches from the claws. The way Ingwe told the story, he never felt any pain until about 4 hours after the attack when his adrenaline starting leaving his system. He always believed that is what happens to animals when they are attacked by predators, they go into a state of shock and don't feel the pain before dying.

-Preston

[boomhowzer]

Wow, I've never thought about that before. Thanks for sharing. I've never had a serious injury before, nor have I had to defend myself against a wild animal (a few tussles with farm animals, but nothing that could eat me). I wonder if anyone on this site has some first hand experience with this type of shock after a horrific wound.

[Gimlis Ghost]

I've survived several not quite horrific injuries and in my experience only broken bones or displaced vertebrae caused lasting suffering. Soft tissue injuries that don't involve lost skin aren't quite so bad.

Pain is something that helps prevent you from hurting yourself more by moving around too much.

A very serious injury can cause release of bio chemicals into the brain which not only deaden the pain but can produce a euphoric state.

[Eric Krewson]

I was hesitant to jump in on this thread because just the title sounds like a plant from someone who is anti hunting.

I was raised on a small farm, we named all our animals except for the chickens and treated them all like pets. Not a tear was shed when it became time for one of them to enter the Krewson family food chain, us kids looked forward to the fresh steaks or whatnot, that is the reality of killing what you need for food.

I carry this forward attitude to the woods with me, I want my preys demise to be quick and painless plus I am looking forward to those fresh steaks.

[Gimlis Ghost]

native Americans felt intimately connected to the animals they hunted. Knowing starvation all too well, they hunted from the heart, using skills that took years to perfect. They felt a true thanks for every morsel and fiber of an animal's being."
     -Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival (1983), pg. 146

Local Indian hunters used to apologize to a Black Bear before killing it, explaining that it was necessary. They also, in pre colonial times at least, forbade use of any weapon against the Black Bear other than a warclub.
They considered the Black Bear to be a cowardly animal, but basically harmless, unlike the Brown Bears which were stone killers.
The Black Bear can be deadly under some conditions. I almost got my face slapped off by a adolescent Blackie that I mistook for a large dog rooting in a trash can. He looked to weigh maybe 90 lb. He was startled and took a swipe at me. His claws came within a faction of an inch of my nose. He stood on his hind legs for a moment, then realizing I was much bigger than he was he turned and scampered away.
On another occasion a large Blackie of maybe 300+ lb I'd been trying to get a photo of charged at me when a kid threw a watermelon rind and hit him on the head.
It stopped when it saw I wasn't going to run, though I later realized I had taken about ten backwards steps. I remained facing the bear. Quickest way to get chased is to turn and run and you can't expect to outrun a bear on its home turf.